Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings posts give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.
Welcomings will be posted at the start of each week (usually Saturday night with a Sunday date). To find the posts, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).
The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.
So … what’s going on in your part of Moosylvania?
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NOTE: The comments page will split off after 20 or so left margin comments with the most recent comments on the current page. To see the older comments, scroll to the bottom of the page (right before “Leave A Reply”) and use the Pages Tool to view previous pages, shown here with 3 pages of comments available and Page 2 circled.
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Good “morning”, Motley Meese! The week begins …
Morning low of 19 degrees in Madison WI with an expected daytime high of 32. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Sunday Meese. The snow we were supposed to get yesterday and all last night never materialized here in Kingston NY (thankfully) Was just rain. It’s 35, going up one degree to 36.
Puerto Rico
Good morning. Really cold here — 30s, brrrr. Watching the news while my tea steeps. Today: church, make next week’s overnight oats…..and that’s all I have planned for now. Maybe finish my annual re-read of Hogfather.
Black Music Sunday
Good Sunday morning, Moosekind! Was sorry not to check in yesterday but I was so busy I just couldn’t help it. Began the day when an expedition to the supermarket, where I picked up the entree for Christmas dinner, among other things.
It was overcast all day Saturday and not very warm. I did observe we’d had some rain the night before as I saw puddles in the roadways. Last night we had some drizzle again. This area is so dry that even the weather persons in the Washington Poop have been forced to acknowledge it.
Anyway, it’s 53 F., will be cloudy all day, and late showers are predicted. H’mm. I have much writing to do—the newsletter, for one—and laundry. One is supposed to wash plush dressing-gowns before they’re worn. Little Ethan is arriving at tea time to stay overnight until tea time tomorrow, so I have to wash the one I ordered for him. Apparently his beleaguered parents will be able to cope with school holidays Tuesday through Friday.
Yesterday before dinner I put on a Santa cap and draped a white fluffy scarf around my neck when I delivered little bags of Yule goodies to the people in my hallway. If Karl and Nora hadn’t been on their way to North Carolina, I’d have asked them to help. They love doing that.
Not much news except that the calendar for January is already filling up. I have a cold starting up. It couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time, but it’s the November cold that never happened. I take Vitamin C every morning, wear two masks (a cute cloth one over the KN95) when I go out in public, and eat properly. My resistance is low because of lack of sleep. I will say no more about that.
Yesterday afternoon when I arrived at the nail salon, two men from the barber shop next door were having an altercation outside the shop. They yelled at each other and then one stepped up right to the other’s face and yelled again. They must have felt my gaze—I was staring—because they both turned and looked at me. “MERRY CHRISTMAS,” I said very loudly. They beamed and said “Merry Christmas!” right back. The whole incident was massively weird.
Time to go clean up my messy house and start the never-ending laundry. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
It’s 33 heading for 46 and not exactly dark but definitely not sunny. The widget says we got down to 26 overnight but the bird water (on the bottom step out my back door) wasn’t frozen. I don’t know how much protection the house gives the dish but apparently enough. We generated 5.75 KWHs yesterday so Friday and Saturday together made one fairly good winter day of electricity – 92.8 is the m-t-d.
I don’t know why I’m so spacy today – I’ve started and not completed because got derailed at least 10 things so far and I see no sign of it getting better. sigh. But I’m enjoying Dee’s diary as I start and don’t finish things. LOL. I haven’t had direct contact with anybody so I’m working on the assumption that everything’s about the same as yesterday. Holding the Good Thought things will get better. For everybody.
Off to start a few more things. And maybe finish some. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Monday Meese. 18 degrees here in Kingston NY going up to 38. Instead of some people announcing they are quitting supporting Democrats – we need to do this:
#MakeManchinIrrelevant
Charles Gaba is right. Dilute Manchin’s vote and then we can make him irrelevant.
Puerto Rico
Another cold morning,in the 30s. I wore gloves. Warm this afternoon, and by Friday, it’ll just be warm. In the office today. Hope the phones are quiet, there’s a lot of e-mail and a lot of people are out.
It’s 28 going up to 50. Sunny at the moment but the widget says clouds moving in this afternoon. Yesterday we generated 5.8 KWHs and the m-t-d is 98.2 – we’ll at least cross the 100 mark today.
The little tabby I’ve been feeding on the carport wants to come inside. When I went to check and see if it’d eaten all the food I’d put out (yes) it followed me back to the door and meowed. So I brought out more food. Nope, it followed me to the food dish, head-butted my hand (yes, of course I petted it), followed me back to the door again and meowed some more. It knows inside means warm and pets and laps. I can’t bring in a 7th cat. I shouldn’t have brought in the 6th although we’re managing. Blast people who betray their cats like that. If you don’t want a cat, don’t get one. If you have a cat and decide you don’t want it, rehome it. Don’t just put it outside.
I haven’t connected with anybody yet today but guessing nothing much has changed. Just Holding the Good Thoughts that things will get better. I stopped asking for good a long time ago, but better is still better. At least I seem to be doing better. Not sure because it’s a slow and anything but steady process but I think I am.
Off to twitter to do twitter stuff. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 30 and light clouds out side my window. Our family Christmas lunch was really fun yesterday with good conversations, tasty food, time outdoors by the fire and of course some silly fun. I’ve got ice on my knees and will need to rest today but that’s ok. Everyone is sleeping in this morning so I’m enjoying a quiet moment, knowing we will soon be visiting with morning coffee. Best wishes to all.
Good Moon Day morning, Moosekind!
Feeling a bit better today, after 8 hours of blissful, drugged sleep. We all slept until 7. I can’t believe how medieval it is—one bedroom, two adults in one bed, the six-year-old sleeping in a little foldout bed beside us, and The Dawg in his bed by the wall. This morning at 7:15 it was still quite dark, as Monty and I, shivering in 24-degree F. weather despite our coats, saw the Cold Moon hanging low over the horizon. It made my day, that much I can tell you. The pool in the woods across the way is frozen.
Right now in Ashburn it’s 35 f., going up to a whopping but suitable 43 F. It’s so sunny I wish I could send our day to bfitz.
I’m now having my November cold. It’s four weeks late, owing to the Vitamin C regimen recommended by one of my friends. All the Vi-C in the world, however, is not proof against night after night of insufficient sleep. Lowered immunity lets the germs creep in.
Ethan will be with us until tea time. The child is an eating machine! I hope he’ll go for tomato soup, toasted cheese sandwiches, and tiny, sweet mandarin oranges for lunch. He had baby pizzas yesterday and baby pancakes this morning. At the moment he is absorbed in his Kindle device. We did read a book this morning after breakfast, and I can tell he’s improving. He’s sounding words out rather than guessing.
Well, I’m feeling a bit tired, so will make the bed, which has been airing all morning, and then set about preparing lunch. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
P. S. Bfitz, thoroughly agree with you about the cat. Isn’t there a no-kill shelter somewhere in the area?
I wish there was a no-kill shelter around here. The 2 Fayetteville organizations listed when I look up no-kill shelters aren’t actually shelters and don’t take in animals. They mostly lend their support, fundraising, and volunteers to the city and county shelters to help them keep their kill rate as low as possible. We used to have some folks who’d trap the animal and transport it to a no-kill shelter that had an opening but they’ve all moved or aged out and don’t do that any longer. sigh.
BTW – how’s your calcium absorption? Lack of calcium can cause insomnia. If you’re losing bone mass, that may be the issue with your insomnia as well. Healing Energy & {{{Diana}}}
Good morning, meeses! Monday …
It is 28 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 37. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast.
Even if I had not looked at the calendar, I would have KNOWN it was Monday. My day started early with trying to get ahead of an issue related to an update Microsoft made that is wreaking havoc at some of my client’s sites. I got wind of it Friday and documented it but had to leave town over the weekend so nothing was resolved.
Now, two hours after I started my check-in, I see I have not finished it! Can’t stay.
See all y’all later!
Good morning, meeses! Tuesday and Winter Solstice …
It is 16 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 30. Mostly cloudy skies are in the forecast. Winds will pick up this afternoon and make the 30 feel like 18. Brrrrr!
I tried to ignore the hair-on-fire “day after” reaction to Manchin pulling the plug on Build Back Better, or at least the Child Tax Credit part of BBB – since apparently he is willing to do the rest of it. He is pretty sure that Those People use all the money for illegal drug use because they are Those People and that is How They Are. Actual data, not narratives filtered through the “mind” of a privileged white male, shows that the money goes for food, shelter and clothing. I’m surprised an old racist like Joe Manchin didn’t say that the money went to buy Cadillacs! Maybe that was too obvious. And yes, of course, Joe Biden should take the deal – BBB without the Child Tax Credit – because that is the best he will get and we need the other things in the package. We have about 6 months to do anything legislatively then we will lose one or both houses of Congress and the agenda will be dead. The American people are stupid and will stupidly return the Republicans to power. I think about what would have happened in Wisconsin if Scott Walker would have been governor during the pre-vaccination COVID times. He would have wanted to out-do DeSantis to prove his #RepublicanDeathCult chops and thousands more of us would have died. THAT is what Wisconsinites – and MAGAt Americans want to return to. Blast them.
I am looking forward to the January 6th Commission starting their televised hearings. I hope they hire a professional production team to make sure that the hearing is compelling – must see TV. It is a relief that there will be no trumpers on the panel to trash it. NO ONE wants to see Gym Jordan.
I have a busy day trying to get some projects done before I have to go to the endodontist to get a tooth evaluated. This particular tooth has had a root canal and a crown and is in my “grinding zone.” I suspect I will need an extraction and implant (it is a major molar, not one I can do without). Fun! I also need to get on hold with the IRS as it appears that they missed giving me some money from the 2020 COVID Stimulus Bill but I apparently can’t access it without an IRS account because they can’t link it up to my 2020 tax return. The process of getting an account is awful (I already spent two hours on it) and I can see why people give up and the government has millions in unclaimed credits. The IRS help line on the tax credit notice gets to the end of the phone tree and says that there are too many callers in that queue and to call back another day. I will persevere!
See all y’all later!
Happy Tuesday Winter Solstice Meese. 24 going up to 43 here in Kingston NY.
“Colonizers are coming to town” Christmas song from Suni Reyes
One more truly cold morning then it gets warmer the rest of the week. Working from home today & tomorrow. Happy that the science channel has astronomy all day. Allergies are bad, lots of articles & news segments about telling the difference between cedar “fever” as we call it & omicron. Hope everyone has a good day.
Good morning, Meese, and a blessed Yule to you all! As JanF has beautifully reminded us with a special post, today is Winter Solstice. I’m going to play my album, “This Winter’s Night,” while I work today.,
It’s cloudy and 26 F. in Ashburn today, going up to 48 F. I made Blueberry Bran Muffins for breakfast and Dearly said they were delicious. (I thought so too.)
As always, lots to do today. I’m focusing on the personal rather than the political at the moment because if I let myself think about the political I would scream hysterically.
Time to get going. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
Happy Yule! to everybody. 🎶✨🎄🎉💕🎶 It’s 30 heading for mid 50s and sunny. I like sunny. We generated 4.66 yesterday and got to 102.9 for the m-t-d. We won’t make it to 110 today but we should get close.
The little tabby hasn’t been around since yesterday midday. Once I’d thought about it I realized it hasn’t been at my house in the evenings at all. I’m hoping it actually belongs to someone who feeds and takes it in at night – someone like a student who’s going home for Xmas and taking the cat along. (I’ll hold off on getting the “outdoor cat” catfood until I know if it’s coming back.) All the people/humans I’m concerned about are pretty much holding steady. That’s not necessarily good but at least it’s not getting worse.
Serious sinusitis flare last night but at least it’s been 3 weeks since I’d last used the nasal decongestant spray – so around midnight I gave up on everything else I’d been doing and used it. And 15 minutes later I was breathing well enough to lay down again. So probably about 6-1/2 hours of sleep. Hands are better. Not “play FreeCell” better but at least “use emojis” better. 😁
I’ll be getting Yule/Xmas dinner brought over tonight from family but heaven only knows when. They’re always about 2 hours later than they say they’re going to be and Connie’s email only said they’d “be late” – so I actually may be eating it for a midnight snack or tomorrow’s breakfast. But it’s still a gift and I am still most certainly happy about it.
I need to do some baking today – tomorrow as well – but need to get over to twitter and do my “twitter chores” first. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
So much for hoping on the tabby – much later than usual but I thought I heard something outside and there he was. On my carport and hungry. sigh. I still think he may have a home – just not getting enough food for being outside in the cold.
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 12 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 28. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. Winds today will make it feel much colder.
Gosh! Corporate donations to Joe Manchin’s FkThePoors PAC soared as he fights the Build Back Better Act? Who could have predicted that? (I was not sure of his PAC’s name, but I think I have it right). It turns out that his belief that the Child Tax Credit is wasted on drugs was based on one constituent telling him that her daughter used it on crack. What a jerk! Susan “Coathanger” Collins said she is interested in a standalone Child Tax Credit bill that would extend the credit – just like she was interested in getting to the truth behind Brett Keggernaugh’s sexual assault. I feel sad for the families who got a glimpse of a decent America, one that cared whether they lived or died, only to have that pulled away – and to see Joe Manchin wagging his finger at them as he banks millions from the haters of all that is good. Someone said we will lose 40 seats in the House next year. Goddess help us.
I have errands to run ahead of the holiday. We couldn’t celebrate Solstice last weekend so we will have to wait until Friday for the gift giving and holiday meal. The nice thing about having a different winter holiday than most Americans is that I can shop for the holiday meal on the morning of the meal and everything is very fresh. The bad thing, of course, is that no one gives us the day off and the family unit we celebrate as has to find a different day for feasting and gifting.
See all y’all later!
Wednesday Meese. 31 going up to 44 here in Kingston. Just dragged the trash bins down to the curb and was slippin’ and slidin’ all the way – last nights rain is now a thin sheet of ice – and I can’t remember where we stored the bags of salt. Sigh.
Puerto Rico
Good morning. Back to warm weather, I’m wearing sandals. The weather guy was laughing at the Christmas graphic of an elf dancing in the snow, saying here it would be sunglasses & sandals. Anyway, work from home today, setting reminders for tomorrow to listen to the Irish TV Christmas music thing at 3 tomorrow, then get ready for church. But today is just work.